With just more than a minute remaining in the first half, midfielder Taylor Cummings gave the Terrapins women’s lacrosse team its first lead of the season on a free position shot Friday.

From there the No. 2 Terps never looked back. After surrendering the first two goals of the game, they went on to score 14 unanswered goals on their way to a 14-3 rout of UMBC at UMBC Stadium in their season opener.

The game started at a slow pace, and the Terps struggled to get their offense going. UMBC was content to hold possession for minutes at a time, taking shots only when they saw an opening. The Retrievers connected on two of their first three shots on goalkeeper Abbey Clipp.

“We started off extremely slow today,” coach Cathy Reese said. “I thought our whole first half we were kind off just passing the ball around waiting for somebody else to step up and make something happen.”

The Terps scored just two goals in the first 28 minutes of the game, both coming on free position shots, one by Cummings and the other by attacker Kristen Lamon.

After Cummings added another free position goal with 1:02 remaining, the Terps finished off one more goal just seconds before halftime to take a two-goal lead into the break.

“We need to be a team that steps on the field and plays our game and takes control of the tempo,” Reese said.

And that is exactly what the Terps did when they took the field in the second half. Cummings netted a pair of goals in the opening two minutes to secure her first hat trick of the season.

With a 6-2 lead the Terps didn’t slow down, scoring three more goals in a span of 61 seconds around the 25-minute mark of the second half, including two from midfielder Zoe Stuckenberg. The freshman connected on another shot with 20:35 remaining for her first career hat trick — she finished the game with four goals.

“[Stukenberg] is going to be an immediate impact for us in the midfield,” Reese said. “She had a really good game for us. She really stepped up big for us.”

The Terps continued to roll late in the second half, scoring four more goals before UMBC finally found the back of the net for the first time in more than 50 minutes.

The Terps’ goalkeepers didn’t see much action in their end, but as expected Clipp and Emily Kift split halves. Clipp started the game, allowing two goals on four shots, and Kift played the second half making two saves and allowing one goal.

UMBC failed to win the draws in the second half, allowing the Terps to control the tempo of the game as they scored 10 second-half goals. The Terps controlled 16 of the 19 draws and converted on eight of their nine clears.

“[Cummings] did a phenomenal job on the draw today, which allowed us to have a ton of possessions and opportunities,” Reese said.

Aside from her four goal, one assist performance, Cummings controlled a game-high five draws for the Terps. The reigning ACC Freshman of the Year’s ability to control the draws allowed the Terps to direct the tempo during their 14 unanswered goals.

Despite a strong second-half performance, Reese said the Terps’ first half of just five shots on goal shows the offensive tempo isn’t where it needs to be. Cummings and the rest of the offense will look to change that on Sunday when they host their home opener against Richmond.

“We have a lot to work on,” Reese said. “We need to make sure that offensively we are all on the same page and we understand what our philosophy is.”